A/N: Hey, guys! After being bummed out about the way iGoodbye ended, I decided to come up with an ending for it that was more satisfying. SEDDIE! A super-long one-shot. Lots of fluffiness with some angst and drama here and there! Please favorite and review! Enjoy! :D
A Proper Ending To iGoodbye
(General POV)
Freddie smiled to himself as he thought about all the great iCarly memories there were.
Just then, the elevator opened a few doors down to reveal a disheveled Sam.
"Hey," Freddie greeted her.
"Hi," she replied softly.
"Where have you been?"
Sam sighed. "I just went to the Groovy Smoothie to get a Blueberry Banana Blitz before closing time. I thought it might cheer me up after…"
"Saying goodbye to Carly?"
She nodded sadly. "But, it didn't cheer me up at all. It made me feel worse. Because instinctively, after I ordered my smoothie, I was about to order Carly a Strawberry Splat, her favorite, when I realized I can't anymore." Tears began to well up in Sam's eyes.
"Aw, Sam," Freddie comforted, embracing her.
"I just miss her so much already!" Sam balled. "How will I ever be able to be happy again without my best friend?"
"Come on, Sam. You're blowing this out of proportion. Yes, Carly's going to be halfway around the world for a while, but, I mean, it's not like she's dead or anything. You can still call, email, text, and Skype her anytime you want." Freddie said.
"Yeah, but it won't be the same."
"Well, life's all about change, you know. We were going to go our separate ways eventually after graduating high school."
Sam released herself from the hug and sniffed. "I hate change."
Freddie nodded. "Me too,"
Sam looked over at the front door of Carly's now-former apartment. "I can't believe we'll never be going back in there to do iCarly anymore."
"When Carly comes back," Freddie offered.
Sam shook her head. "I don't think Carly's coming back. All she's ever wanted was to be with her dad again, and now, she's off to Italy living her dream. I don't blame her if she wants to stay there."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Freddie agreed.
Sam sighed. "Well, I just wanted to say bye to my favorite nub before I take Mickey for her first ride."
"Who's Mickey?" Freddie asked.
"The new motorcycle Spencer just gave me."
Freddie chuckled. "You named it?"
"Damn right I did. And that baby's engine purrs like an angel, Freddie. I can't believe the bike's mine now."
"Yeah, it's really cool that Spencer let you have it."
"Totally,"
An awkward silence filled the air between the two of them.
"So," Freddie started.
"So," Sam echoed.
"Be careful on your ride home, Sam. Lots of idiots are driving around at this time of night."
"Thanks, and I will be." Sam replied. "But, I'm not sure if I'll be heading right home."
"What? Where are you going?" Freddie asked, surprised.
"Hm, I don't know, I have some cousins down in Sacramento, so…"
Freddie couldn't believe his ears. "Sacramento?! As in California? Are you nuts? That's like a 12-hour drive!"
Sam shrugged. "Don't worry, Fredamame. I'll be fine. I just gotta get out of Seattle for a while. Going to all the old spots around here where Carly and I used to go is just too weird. I'd have to clean out her locker at Ridgeway, and then what? Someone else would take her locker and it'll be like Carly never existed? Graduating high school without Carly…I just can't do it."
"Wait a minute," Freddie asked, puzzled, "you're leaving….for good?"
She nodded morosely. "I guess you could say that."
"So, I'm going to lose both my best friends in one night?!"
"I'm sorry, Freddie. But, you still have Gibby and your nerdy A/V Club buddies to hang out with. And Spencer's still right across the hall if you need him."
"But, what about school? How will you graduate?" Freddie inquired.
Sam shrugged. "Honestly, school is the last thing I care about right now. But, I could always transfer to the local public high school in Sacramento. Or worse come to worse, I'll just get my GED."
Freddie gasped. "GED? But, Sam, you've really been working hard this past year to bring your grades up! You're really gonna just throw that all away? Carly would be devastated!"
Sam rolled her eyes. "Colleges accept GEDs just like regular high school diplomas. My cousin Kaitlin got her GED five years ago, and you know where she is now, Freddie? Stanford Law School. A GED isn't a death sentence."
"Fine, but, what if your cousins aren't able to take you in? Where will you live?" Freddie asked.
"Well, I'm 18 now, so I shouldn't have any problems getting a job there and renting a one-bedroom apartment." Sam replied.
Freddie shook his head. "Sam, you can't possibly do this. You won't have anyone down there besides your cousins; won't it be lonely?"
Sam nodded. "Kind of. But, remember when we went to L.A. last year to that party at Kenan Thompson's house and we met those cool kids from Hollywood Arts?"
Freddie nodded.
"Well, there was this one nice girl there, Cat. Remember, the short, red-haired one who wore that weird robot-voice headband thing 'cuz she had laryngitis or something?"
"Yeah, but, I still don't know where you're going this…." Freddie replied.
"Well, that girl Cat; she was really nice. Kinda ditzy and overly dramatic, but nice. We swapped numbers before we were heading back to Seattle. And she said to me, 'Do you think you'll ever be in California again anytime soon?' And I told her that I have family in Sacramento. And she squealed excitedly, 'My dad lives in Sacramento!' She told me that even though her parents are divorced, she visits her dad one weekend every month. So, maybe her and I could chill every once in a while."
"Yeah, I guess." Freddie replied. "But….."
"But what?"
"What about you and me? We'll never see each other again."
Sam sighed. "Freddie, don't say that. You can visit me anytime you want once I get settled there. In fact, I'll even text you my new address once I get one. This isn't goodbye forever."
"Yeah, but, I'll miss you." Freddie said on the brink of tears.
Sam was already crying. "I'll miss you too, Freddie. But, hey, you could always apply to Sacramento State University."
Freddie smiled through his tears. "Or you could come back to Seattle and go to Seattle University with me."
Sam smiled sadly. "We'll see, Benson."
Freddie sniffed. "So, do you want me to walk you out to parking lot?"
Sam shook her head. "Nah, I think I'll lose the nerve to leave if I look in my rearview mirror and see you standing there waving to me as I speed away. Watching you fade into the distance until I can't see you anymore. It's just so…final."
"I guess that's true," Freddie agreed, nodding.
"Well, bye," Sam whispered.
"Bye," Freddie echoed softly.
Then, Freddie took a few steps towards Sam and placed his hands on her waist. Sam gasped in surprise at Freddie's sudden boldness, but she was definitely unprepared when Freddie tilted his head and gently pressed his lips against hers. Sam wrapped her arms around Freddie's shoulders, tilted her head a tiny bit in the opposite direction of Freddie's, and kissed back a little more forcefully, deepening their lip-lock and taking control of the kiss. Freddie let out a soft moan as Sam pressed him up against the wall opposite to where the apartment sign "8-D" hung. But, after about 30 seconds, before things could get too intense, they broke apart from the kiss, breathing heavily with the sound of their hearts pounding in their ears.
"So," Freddie grinned cheekily, "we're still broken up, right?"
Sam smiled at the floor, blushing. "Maybe….."
Freddie's face turned serious again. "Look, Sam. We don't have to get back together if you don't want to, but….."
Sam snorted. "Would I kiss you like that if I didn't want to?"
Freddie started to get excited. "So, this means you'll stay after all?"
Sam shook her head. "I'm still going, Freddie. But, this you and me as a couple thing….maybe in a year or two we can make it work. I'm not gonna make any promises that we're going to be the perfect couple the next time around or that we'll even survive the first date, but I'm not going to start singing "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" to you either."
Freddie chuckled.
Sam frowned, knowing that saying goodbye to Freddie wouldn't be easy. "Well, I think it's time for me to go."
Freddie sighed. "Really?"
Sam nodded sadly. "Yup."
Sam walked towards the elevator and pressed the down arrow. The down arrow lit up and the elevator made a "ding" sound. The elevator door opened slowly.
Sam hugged Freddie tightly. "Bye, Freddie."
Freddie patted her back. "Bye, Sam. Be safe."
"I will."
As Sam walked into the elevator, she fumbled in the pocket of her tan jacket for the keys to her motorcycle, then, pressed the parking garage button on the elevator keypad. She waved one last time to Freddie, and Freddie waved back weakly.
As the elevator door began to close, Freddie ran up to it, and pushed his hand against the door to make it stop moving.
Sam gasped. "Freddie, what are you doing? You could've hurt yourself!"
"I just wanted to tell you before you go that I'll always be here for you if you need anything. Just call me, text me, email me, whatever! And I'll be there in Sacramento in a heartbeat. Well, once my mom lets me get my driver's license, that is." Freddie said, rolling his eyes.
Sam giggled. "You're mom's so overprotective. But, thanks. That's really sweet of you to say. It means a lot to me."
"Okay, well, I guess that's it," Freddie sighed, walking backwards out of the elevator's doorway.
"Okay," Sam replied sadly, walking over to press the "close door" button again. But, as she did this, Freddie cleared his throat.
"Sam?"
"Yeah?" She looked up and looked into Freddie's gorgeous brown eyes one last time.
Freddie smiled. "I love you."
And as the elevator door began to close, Sam grinned and said, "I love you too, Freddie. See you soon."
The elevator door finally closed, and then, there was silence. Freddie looked at the elevator door sadly and sighed. Even though Sam had not wanted Freddie to watch her speed off into the night, he felt it would give him some closure. He walked over to the big bay window at the other side of the 8th floor hallway, and waited until his saw a little blonde figure in boots, jeans, a tan jacket, stripped shirt, and a motorcycle helmet and goggles climb onto the back of her motorcycle, or "Mickey" as Sam had referred to it.
Sam climbed on the motorcycle and sighed. She knew she had to do this. It was time. She put the key in and started the motorcycle's powerful engine, revving it a little. She looked back up one more time at Bushwell Plaza, the building where, five years ago, she went from being an overly aggressive, prison-destined 13-year-old ne'er-do-well to an international web star adored by millions. It was the building where her two best friends had lived. It was the place she had considered home for the past five years. Even though her permanent address had always been the beat-up shack at the edge of town that she shared with her promiscuous, alcoholic, absentee mother, in her heart, Bushwell would always be her home.
Then, she looked up to the 8th floor and saw a familiar face staring despondently out the big bay window that overlooked the street. It was Freddie, the nub she had tormented for so long, just to realize that she was really in love with that same nerdy, "Galaxy Wars"- obsessed tech-boy. And maybe someday, he could be her dorky-but-lovable boyfriend again. She waved up to him one last time, and smiling sadly, he waved back. Then, Sam started her motorcycle, and without a second look, turned out of the parking lot of Bushwell and slowed down at a red light. She smiled at the memory of brainstorming the idea for iCarly in Carly's kitchen all those years ago. Then, the stoplight turned green and, after taking a deep breath, Sam Puckett drove off into the night.